70 Weeks of Daniel

Ron Beard
Cover Image for 70 Weeks of Daniel

The 70 weeks of Daniel are mentioned at the end of Daniel chapter 9 (9:24-27). Daniel was praying about Jeremiah’s prophecy (that the 70 year captivity was come to an end). As he was praying, Gabriel, the Archangel, appeared to Daniel and said:

V.24 “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy”.

V.25 “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall even in troublous times”.

V.26 “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined”.

V.27 “And He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week, He shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations He shall make desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate”.

Gabriel is saying “These 70 years of captivity are indeed over, but I’m telling you 490 years (70 weeks of years) have been determined upon your people (the Jews) and your city (Jerusalem) to bring to an end your way of life (covenant)”.

There is no debate that these 70 “weeks” are actually “weeks of years”. This 490 years lines up historically with Messiah’s introduction at the end of the 69th week. And His fulfilling of all six ‘determinations’ in the 70th week.

This Messianic Prophecy describes the Sublime and the Horrific.

These four verses describe the beautiful work of Jesus Christ our Messiah, saving us from sin and ushering in a new covenant of righteousness and reconciliation through His death on the cross. At the same time, it predicts and describes the brutal destruction of those who sent Him to the cross.

A brief look at verse 24 describes a list of the things Jesus Christ accomplished at the cross (examined below). With that in mind, it follows, that the time from the command to restore Jerusalem to Messiah is 69 weeks (483 years). In verse 26 the word cut off means put to death. The text continues “but not for himself”. Jesus was put to death not for His sin, but for ours. The prince that came to destroy the city and the sanctuary was of course, Titus with 70,000 roman soldiers which is the ‘flood’ that left Jerusalem desolate. Verse 27 returns to Jesus making His covenant with many during the beginning of the 70th week but is crucified “in the midst of the week”, half of the 70th week or three and a half years (the length of His ministry). He ‘caused the sacrifice and oblation to cease’ by becoming the eternal sacrifice Himself (Heb.9:12-15). And because the Jewish leaders crucified their own Messiah, the people and the holy city were ruthlessly destroyed (Matt.23:13-39, 24:21).

This is the historic interpretation of the passage. Taught and accepted for 2000 years. In the last hundred years or so, another interpretation has arisen. Not from bible scholarship but based on John Darby’s teaching. Darby’s view claims there are 2,000+ years between the 69th week and the 70th week. His wild interpretation destroys this profound Messianic prophecy (what Jesus Christ accomplished v.24, and how He did it vs.26-27). Is there another prediction so comprehensive in all the Old Testament? Darby attempts to replace Messiah here, with a future antichrist making an agreement with Jews! There is no biblical basis for this, and there is no textual connection between “he” in verse 27 and a future antichrist. The word "He" is a pronoun and must refer back to Messiah or the prince. There is no continuity of thought beginning with Messiah’s accomplished work then finishing with an antichrist 2,000 years in the future! And certainly, no precedent in scripture for centuries between the weeks of a 70 week prophecy. This 70 weeks culminates in the destruction of Jerusalem, the holy city, in 70AD. That sets the boundaries of timeframe. A desperate attempt to pass off bad doctrine.

Let’s explain with a story: A guy comes up to you and claims he is Jesus, and he just rose from the dead. You say, “I’m sure that couldn’t be true because Jesus said He would rise on the third day”. He replies, “true but there was 2,000 years between the second day and third day”. You say “even if that were possible, we’ve got a guy. There already is a guy that actually rose on the third day and met all the requirements; So, you can’t be the guy”.

A simple story to illustrate the point. You can make fantastic claims about a future guy, but we’ve got a guy. V.25 He showed up at the beginning of the 70th week (John 1:29). V.26 He died for us and He ushered in the new covenant (Mt.26:28). V.27 He caused the old covenant practices to cease being effective (Heb.8:13). And He fulfilled all 6 things the angel claimed He would v.24. A future antichrist is a non-starter. He can’t be the guy.

Verse 24: These are the 6 things Jesus did.

To finish the transgression:

Luke 23:21 “Crucify him” John 19:15 “We have no king but Caesar” Matt.27:25 “His blood be upon us and our children” See also Matt.21:33-45, 23:31-38, 1Thess.2:15-16, Isa.53:5.

To make an end of sins:

John 1:29 “The Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world” 1John 2:2 “He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world” Heb.10:12 “But this man… offered one sacrifice for sins…forever” See also Eph.2:16, 2Cor.5:19, Rom.3:25

To make reconciliation for iniquity:

2Cor.5:18 “All things are of God who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Col.1:20 “Having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all thing unto Himself… See also Rom.5:10-11, Heb.2:17

To bring in everlasting righteousness:

Rom.3:21-26 “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested… righteousness by faith in Christ… Rom.5:18-21 “By the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto the justification of life…so grace might reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” See also Isa.51:8

To seal up the vision and prophecy:

Prophesied by Isaiah 29:10-11 and quoted by Jesus Matt.13:10-17. See also Isa.6:10

To anoint the Most Holy:

Both words, Messiah and Christ mean “anointed”. God anointed Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit and Power. Acts4:27 &10:38.

[Not and exhaustive list by far]

The 490 years:

The foundation of the 70 week prophecy is the 70 year captivity that was coming to an end (Dan.9:1-2). The 70 years were consecutive, and it would be natural to understand that the 70 weeks of years would also be consecutive. And certainly not sections separated by thousands of years! This 70 week prophetic time period begins with the “decree”. Most interpreters believe this is Cyrus’ because his decree is recorded in scripture (2Chron.36:22-23, Ezra chapter 1, and Isaiah 44:26-28). However, the dates become difficult to harmonize because history has Cyrus’ decree about 539BC. Adding 483 years brings us to 56BC. According to historians, Jesus began His ministry around 27AD. This makes the timing off by 83 years.

An exact solution is found when the date of the “command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem” given by Artaxerxes in 457BC is substituted (many sources, including one from biblearchaeology.org explain this date).

A closing note; to imply that Jewish people would allow themselves to be led by a future antichrist (have you thought that through?) who had the authority to covenantally permit them to offer animal sacrifices in a rebuilt temple, in the near future, then suddenly force them to stop three and a half years later is an extraordinary tale. How many Jews in Israel want to sacrifice animals? What priesthood would oversee it? What would it accomplish? Animal blood doesn’t take away sin. Why would anyone of sound mind give Darby’s idea a second thought?